If you live in the northern hemisphere, rejoice—Spring is coming! Here are three awesome but lesser-known places to take yourself and your family off to for some outdoorsy adventures. We have included locations in different parts of the world, but if you don’t live close to any of them, don’t despair—they might be the excuse you were waiting for to book a family holiday somewhere new!
1. Bowthorpe Park Farm (Manthorpe, Lincolnshire, England)
When you first arrive at Bowthorpe Park Farm, you would be forgiven for thinking that it is a farm like any other. Sure, you can learn more about agriculture here on one of their open days, when staff will explain the process of growing and harvesting their crops—which are mainly beans, oats, rapeseed oil, and wheat, which is milled for bread-making. Sure, they organize special events such as a lambing experience day in April and a Spooky Halloween day in October, when you can choose your own pumpkin. So far, so run of the mill—pun intended.
What sets Bowthorpe Park Farm apart from virtually every other farm of its kind is the presence in its grounds of the Bowthorpe Oak. This imposing tree, believed by experts to be over a thousand years old, is one of England’s oldest trees and the country’s oldest and largest pedunculate oak tree, with its girth measuring an impressive 13.3 meters. The tree’s naturally hollow trunk was once filled with benches and used as a dining area by a local esquire! While you can’t dine in the tree anymore, you can book a private viewing for an hour at £10 ($13) per adult and £5 ($6.50) per child.
2. Kenai Fjords National Park (Seward, Alaska)
The word ‘fjord’ probably makes you think of Norway, but this stunning set of fjords lies hundreds of miles west of Scandinavia in southern Alaska, on the North Pacific Ocean coast. In Kenai Fjords National Park, you can take a boat tour of the fjords, walk right next to a glacier, hike the Harding Icefield Trail or go kayaking. Make sure to visit in the summer, as much of the park becomes inaccessible during the winter months.
3. Lister Park (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England)
Another one for tree lovers, Lister Park, sits in the center of Bradford, a former textile and metalworks hub in northern England. Visitors to Lister Park can enjoy a stroll through the botanical gardens and the Mughal Water gardens, as well as a visit to Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, which hosts both a permanent collection and temporary exhibitions. However, the main attraction for nature enthusiasts has to be the Fossil Tree: the fossilized stump of a tree believed to be around 330 million years old and originating from a time when England was a tropical land. The fossil was discovered in a sandstone quarry in the nearby village of Clayton in 1889 and is now surrounded by a timeline painted on the ground, which shows visitors the different eras of prehistory and history from the tree’s birth to this day.
